Ruth S Rivera
Stories (4/0)
Cherishing my life
I always wanted to travel the world. I currently sit here in my room looking outside through my sliding door. I sit and ponder how the world looks like. Yet what I don't know is that I already set foot through out the whole world. I can close my eyes and I'm swimming in the beautiful alaskan hot springs as I stare at the morning view of the sun and enjoying the nice warm steam of the water that soaks me into bliss. As I write I'm already creating that feeling. I can also go back to my country and hug my grandma. The loving woman who took care of me during my childhood days and gave me the most tender love anyone has up to this date.
By Ruth S Rivera3 years ago in Motivation
Love, wine & dine
Suddenly life didn't fill me up with boredom anymore. Tinder would have never been my first choice to find true love. Must have been my insecurities of being the first to ask someone on a date. So it became an icebreaker in a sense making it easier for people to meet. I was getting ready for my first date with Usuai one Sunday afternoon. Thinking how strange the events that took place to end up actually going on a date with him which was far off in my plans early that morning. As I recall I had sparked a conversation with another boy named Aniko a few weeks back and he seemed sweet enough that we went on a date. We went to the beach and stopped for shakes and fries and then headed to Laguna beach. As he was parking his mortocycle it came crashing down, scrapping him right on his knee. He stood there caressing his knee for comfort roughly for 5 min before we headed down the stairs which lead us to the open soft sandy beach. There was something so breathtaking about the beach that night. Just watching the small specs of glimmering city lights far ahead shimmering like twinkling stars and hearing the splashing of the waves clashing into one another as the high tides rose it just filled me up with butterflies inside. We found the perfect spot to sit and he took out some purple grapes, cheese bites, crackers, two wine glasses and a bottle of citris blossom dry white Allonym out from his backpack. I glanced at him let him know I had only drank one beer in my life so was not comfortable drinking much. He chuckled and said "Don't worry, one glass of wine won't get you drunk" I trusted him. He handed me the glass and I just stared through the glass at the sparkling bubbles, bubbling their way to the top of the glass and right behind them the beautiful scenery of the ocean and the far off glimmering city lights. Then brought my glance back at the wine, just staring at it filled my mouth with saliva that I sipped it all up in 2 gulps, more please.... What happened there miss lady? Aniko asked. Well, this is so light and fruity, where did you get it? It doesn't taste anything like beer! "No m'am, this is definitely not beer, I ordered it online just for this special occasion, for you and me." Oh sweet! "Yes, I usually have a glass after work once in a while. I have a monthly subscription and get to taste different selections from Bright Cellars which they have paired up with my taste. It's a great start if you don't drink much." Nice! Thank you Aniko. After my second drink I started getting warm and relaxed. I remember wearing sandals and placing my toes underneath the cool sand feeling more awake than ever. We ended that night with a high adrenaline rush as we rode his motorcycle high speed in the empty freeway at 3am at night. Such a memorable night. We were set to go for a second date. Still I was open to dating more people, but a second date with Aniko seemed pretty set for that Sunday afternoon. It was Sunday morning. I had no intentions of doing anything other than get myself ready for my second date with Aniko. Things took a twisted turn. I got a message from Usuai. Another of my Tinder matches. I don't know what made me continue a conversation with him and after a few back and forth messages I agreed to go out on a date with him that same Sunday afternoon. My luck! What did I let my mind do! I was so in for the thrill of it that I now had two dates. I knew I was going on my second date with Aniko no doubt, this thing with Usuai was just for fun. So I was getting ready. Usuia kept texting me every hour eager as a child, letting me know how excited he was to actually meet me. He must be bluffing I thought, if only he knew I had no intentions of meeting him. And so 5pm came, Aniko called me said there had been a change of plans, he wouldn't be able to meet. He had important things to get done for work. Alright, so that was that, I was not going to let it ruin my weekend so a date with Usuia it was! The date with Usuia was set. He had a very particular request, wanted our first date to be at his home. I thought it was a bit eary but I did ask myself if that’s what people are doing now a days with Covid and all. So I didn’t overthink it and agreed but not without texting my bestfriend his address in case she never saw me again lol. I was definitely not staying home tonight that’s for sure. The seek thriller in me was actually curious to see how this would turn out especially after not even wanting to go out with him from the gecko. He had a thick accent, kinda threw me off. Anyhow, I got ready and went to his home. He greeted me at the gate entrance. He lead me inside his home. He seemed eager as little kid kept offering me food every 5 min. Both of us quite shy I glanced at him as he analyzed my every movement and tried to chat a bit. He let me know he had ordered Buffalo Wild Wings and different flavors to see which I like the most. I was delighted by this gesture. A few minutes later a knock on the door. Delivery guy came with all sorts of wings, there was Lemon pepper, Buffalo, sweet BBQ, spicy garlic, pretty much every type you can think off. We sat and stuffed our faces with wings. At the far end of the table I noticed a bottle of wine and two smooth stemless wine glasses. I could imagine the silky taste in my mouth already just like last week with Aniko. So I was the first to ask if I could please have a glass of wine? Two glasses of merlot coming right up. My eyes sparkled as he handed me the crystal glass with the silky smooth grape wine. I sipped it in my mouth and felt the frutiy flavors burst through my taste buds. I both opened up and started conversating about careers, life and goals. It was such out of the box date but I was glad it was out of the ordinary. We ended up dating for four months after our unique date until I found out he had a fiance across the country in India. As for Aniko he disappeared out my life without hindsight. This lead me to rethink my life. Thanks Aniko for the online wine recommendation and thank you Usuia for the lovely four months of my life next to you. I learned something from these men. I love myself more than ever. I am joyful and relaxed coming home from work not having to cook if I don't want to and I treat myself to a glass of relaxing wine. Thank you to the men who introduced me to the elegance of wine and taught me to love myself.
By Ruth S Rivera3 years ago in Humans
Twisted Turn
How could this be! Lily woke up drenched in sweat, awoken by her dream, she could feel it in her hands a suitcase filled with money! Lily then rose from bed, turned on her lamp and sat down on her recliner next to her old vintage desk looked at the clock it was 3:33am. She then hovered over to open the drawer in her desk and grabbed her little black notebook which had her favorite small pen stuffed within the spiral grid. She wrote and wrote until the sharp lead in the small pencil turned flat, but it was only a dream! She stared at her pencil and her surroundings in that dark stuffy gloomy room, then proceeded to look out the window and saw the most amazing night sky. All the bright city lights glowed like the beautiful fireflies in her country once had under the shimmering moonlight. After all she did live in one of New York city's old town buildings up on the 3rd floor. The gorgeous view and the amazing feeling it had created didn’t last long. Lily took her gaze off and glanced at what she had written in her little black notebook. She crunched up the paper in her hand and threw it to the thrash. Wow! What a waste, she huffed! She jumped back to bed and started sobbing, "How did I end up so alone?" She sobbed and continued crying until her puffy eyes gave up, closed and fell asleep defeated by the overwhelming feeling of emptiness. Lily awoke next morning she saw a glance of the beautiful morning. The warm sun rays shined in underneath the door crack making her room twinkle with brightness, almost like a disco ball. She rose from bed and stood still and absorbed the beauty of it all. “Thank you god for another day of life” she said as she felt the warm rays heal her wounds from the night before. She stood up and got ready for work. Work was just a few steps away in her desk. Covid had made things easier in a sense. No freeway traffic in the evenings. However Lily was miserable, self medicating due to extreme anxiety issues and insecurities of not fitting in and being social as everyone else in the corporate world. Still she had to make ends meet, she could not bare live in the cold streets without a cent. It felt like so much at times, she could not keep doing this to her body and and mind and so was determined to stop medicating but withdrawal symptoms had crawled in creating so many nightmares and surreal dreams like the one she had last night. This time as she was getting ready, she felt extremely dizzy and disoriented, quickly entered panic mode, heart racing fast, electrical shocks creeping in her body and mind, thought she was a goner for good this time. Lily kneeled and prayed to her guarding angels, she had seen a video where they mentioned guardian Angels place a feather in your life to let you know they hear you. So the prayers continued "Please guardian angels if you exist show me my feather, give me a sign I still matter in this lifetime". All morning just prayed for healing. After what seemed like hours she hopped in the shower looked in the mirror, spoke to herself, appreciated her body more than ever and was grateful for still breathing. As soon as she dried herself she headed to her room, opened up the second drawer on the vintage desk and behold her eyes. What did she see?.....So, about a year ago she had purchased a ring, a ring with a unique design. A feathered ring, and now here it was in front of her. Thank you god! She knew this was no coincidence. Her angels are watching her. "This is it! I have the power within to turn around my outcome!" She whispered. Considering how miserable she was at work and wanting to stop self medicating she took a drastic decision and gave her 2 weeks notice. Decided that enough is enough! She did not even worry about how she was going to end up paying her bills, her well being meant more than anything at this point. Last day came and she closed laptop and went out for a walk. Every second felt like a dream, feeling the cool crispy wind in her face, she did not care that she was walking alone at 8pm all she felt was whole and peace. As she continued the walk she kept admiring the swaying trees and the chirping crickets. Life's simple pleasures don't come all bundled up with a pretty bow she thought. Soon after she entered the park she was taken back by a young man sitting alone in one of the benches. He looked all dirty and thin, probably had not eaten in months. She felt bad for him, clothes all ripped up, she approached and gave him a dollar. He looked up taking his stare away from the floor and said "Thank you very much" . "You're welcome" she said and continued her stroll down the enchanted park. It was now 10pm, the park was empty, she turned back and started walking towards the park entrance. The man from earlier was still in the bench she had last seen him in. She paced faster feeling unease and glanced back every 20 seconds to make sure no one was following her. Once home she bundled inside her covers and huddle her feet close to her like a ball. Next morning, still a bit paranoid remembering the creepy guy from last night and the fact she had just quit her job brought in hopelessness. She grabbed her coat and went for a morning walk this time her surroundings seem to be going slow motion, she was dazed and had officially check off, the will to survive in this world had officially been stepped on over and over again into tiny rubble pieces. Her mind continued to wonder off until she heard a scream which brought her back to reality. "Watch out!" yelled a man from the corner of the street, Lily looked up and it was the man from last night, she could see him making hand signals and yelling, suddenly pure darkness was all she could see. Boooooommmm!!!!! "I have no idea where I am?" Lily became so delusional, she had no idea what had happened. Miss! Miss! she heard a voice call out to her, she opened her eyes did not know how long she had been out for, saw the time, it was 11:11pm. "Nurse, nurse, she's opening her eyes!" she heard a man scream! Lily looked and saw the same guy from before. "Where am I?" she whimpered. "You're at the hospital, you got ran over by a car because of me, you were looking right at me when the van crashed into you!" "What?" Lily said in shock. "Yes! I'm afraid that's not all, you had a serious injury and I hate to say this but your right hand has been amputated! he said, Lily overwhelmed by the dreadful news turned pale, what had she just heard, completely in denial did not dare look down all of a sudden a chilling sensation creeped in her whole body, and flashes of her troubled days in her small apartment seemed so miniscule at this exact moment, what was she complaining about, she had it all! She struggled for weeks to come to the terms that she no longer had her right hand. The young man, would come and visit her often feeling guilty of the situation. He asked for forgiveness and would often talk to her about his life. Lily still in shock would not dare speak a word, she just listened to him all day long. The young man would come visit every now and then knowing she had no relatives to come see her. His visits made Lily's day all the time his stories where so fascinating. She wondered how he ended in the streets. One morning the nurse opened the curtains. Lily admired the nice garden just outside the glass sliding door, and this day found the strength to speak. As planned she gained enough courage to talk. "Hey!" How did you end up lonely?" she said "Lily!! You're talking! This is a miracle!" he jumped in excitement. He smiled with a huge grin on his face. "You want to hear my story? I'll tell you, I was adopted when I was 2 yrs old, my mother passed away and my father was so young they placed me for adoption. My adopted parents were an older couple who wished to have kids but 5 yrs after my adoption my mother got diagnosed with cancer and passed away. My father deteriorated and drowned himself with alcohol. Very sad to witness at a very young age. I cannot have it any other way, while my mom lived she gave me the best 5yrs of my life and I'm grateful for the memories she engraved in my heart. Soon after my father passed away with sorrow and I was placed in foster care and bounced house to house, as soon as I was of age I ventured on my own. I wondered around walking under bridges and churches wishing to have a loving family one day and someone to talk to. I had lost meaning in my life. When you saw me at the park I was zoned out of here, but now I know I'm not alone!" Lily's jaw dropped opened in astonishment, here she was handicapped and this man poured nothing but love her way. She smiled, "Jefferson I like you" she said. They both giggled. Lily had never felt so alive. She had told Jefferson about her childhood adventures back in her home country and how they were the best years of her life until her parents brought her to the states at age 6. They had also passed to a tragic car accident and she had also been through the foster care system. These were the life stories they shared on most days. After much loneliness their life's were fulfilled. One day still in recovery Lily turned on the tv and saw an older man asking for info on his son who he had given up for adoption at age 2, he was offering a $20,000 reward for his find. Lily a bit perplexed thought "Could this be a coincidence"? Jefferson had just shared this part of his life with her, she called the hotline posted on the news. She gave much detail about Jefferson and they provided her with details regarding the toddler who the man had placed in adoption years ago. Same date of birth, same hospital. "I'm going crazy!" Lily thought. Jefferson arrived that day and saw camera man, news media surrounding Lily, "What is going on?" he asked, Lily smiled, "Jefferson I believe this is your biological father", "What? he questioned. Lily you're nuts! "No! Jefferson please take the DNA test" she said. He did and it was a match. Jefferson's father. Dr. Neil cried and cried. "My boy I have climbed mountains and crossed the sea to see you once again in my life, you're pale and thin but I have you here with me and you don't have to worry about a thing never ever". Jefferson cried and thanked Lily for everything. "Thank you for saving my life when I didn't believe in myself anymore" Lily said. "Lily you saved mine" he replied. Jefferson's life changed drastically after that, his father was filthy rich. The $20,000 had served Lily for her prosthetic hand. Jefferson and Lily were madly in love, they soon married. Lily was indulged with happiness and forever grateful for the life they had created. Their names remain marked in the bench in the park where they met.
By Ruth S Rivera3 years ago in Motivation